Great Britain capped another formidable championship performance by winning team gold on 84.0, comfortably ahead of Germany on 95.6, while the United States climbed into the bronze medal position with 113.5. Individually, Michael Jung and the remarkable 18-year-old fischerChipmunk FRH added yet another major title to their extraordinary record, winning the individual eventing gold medal at the FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany.
Jung and Chipmunk completed the championship exactly where they began it, on their dressage score of 23.0. Great Britain’s Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo also finished on their dressage score, 23.4, to take silver. British teammate Laura Collett and London 52 took bronze after adding four jumping faults and 0.4 time penalties in the final phase to finish on 28.0.
Jessica Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent finished in 30th place. (Cealy Tetley photo)
Canada’s sole eventing representative, Jessica Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent, continued their steady climb up the leaderboard. The pair had started in 56th after dressage before an impressive cross-country round that saw them move up to 36th. Their final show jumping performance moved them up another six places to complete the World Championship in 30th on a score of 51.5.
“This horse, her strength has not been show jumping at this level, and just took her a second to acclimatize,” Phoenix said of dropping the rail at the first jump. “After we got off that first jump, she was locked in and was ready to go. And everything that I asked her to do, she was right there with me. It was exhilarating to feel how hard she tried for that round. I was so proud of her.”
An Unusual Galloping Track
German course designer Frank Rothenberger produced an unusually open, forward-riding show jumping course for the championship finale. Just 13 combinations jumped double clear with 28 of the 59 starters finishing inside the 91 second time allowed.
“It was such an interesting course,” Phoenix said of the course. “It was really a galloping track, and we don’t often get chance to practice something like that, so it was really intriguing to see how Lacey would handle it, what she would think of it. But she just rose to the occasion; she was incredible.”
One of the more technical questions came early in the course, with a line consisting of two combinations set close to the boards and the audience that required horses to remain focused while adjusting their stride.
“Lacey does not have a huge step, which really played to her benefit in that line because the two-stride in was pretty conventional, and the six was a little bit short, and the one was a little bit open,” she explained. “So it really allowed her to play to her strengths.”
For Phoenix, completing another World Championship carried particular significance because of the people behind Fluorescent Adolescent.
“We lost Sharon Hall’s husband Brian this year, so that was always in our hearts this entire weekend, and I really feel like Brian’s been with us every day throughout this competition,” she said of Sharon’s husband and Makayla’s grandfather. “It’s just been a really amazing week of competition, and I just feel really blessed.”
Another Championship for an Extraordinary Horse
At the head of the leaderboard, Jung faced enormous pressure.
He and Chipmunk entered the arena with only 0.4 penalties separating them from Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Two rattled rails brought gasps from the packed Aachen stadium, but both stayed in their cups. Jung admitted he shared the crowd’s anxiety.
The victory adds another extraordinary achievement to Chipmunk’s career. Over the past seven years, they have won 11 four-star competitions, two five-stars and individual Olympic gold in Paris, and now a World Championship.
“FischerChipmunk is such a super dressage horse. He has such a good balance, such a super temperament,” Jung said, praising the horse’s rideability and ability to switch almost instantly from galloping across country to listening to his rider.
What continues to amaze Jung is Chipmunk’s ability to change gears between the disciplines.
“How the horses can do that, running completely flat out in the cross-country, full energy forward, jumping so brave, all the cross-country jumps, and then jumping so careful and in a super style jumping round today,” he said. “I’m just thankful to have these horses. They make it much, much easier for the rider.”
Chipmunk’s longevity is equally remarkable. Jung credited the varied nature of eventing training, including dressage, jumping, cross-country and hacking on different surfaces, with helping his top horses remain competitive well into their late teens.
“This is also, I think, what good side of this sport is because of the training, the dressage, the show jumping, the cross-country, the hacking, so much different work at home, different ground where you go with the horses,” he said. “I think this all works very well together for the body of the horses.”
Team Great Britain during their hard-earned victory gallop: Tom McEwen and JL Dublin, Laura Collett riding London 52, Rosalind Canter with Lordships Graffalo, and Gemma Stevens on Flash Cooley. (FEI / Leanjo de Koster)
British Depth Delivers Again
Having won back-to-back Olympic team gold medals as well as the 2021 and 2023 European Championships, expectations were high for the British team, and they delivered, leading the entire way.
“It’s really easy to sit here now and say our first target was Olympic qualification,” the British camp acknowledged afterward. “But as you know, we came here with a lot of weight of expectation on our shoulders. So for these guys to deal with that weight and pressure and the expectation is absolutely incredible, and of course there is a bit of relief afterwards as well.”
The British strength extended to the individual podium, with Canter taking silver and Collett bronze.
For Canter, Lordships Graffalo’s performance was further confirmation of the extraordinary versatility of a horse she has ridden since he was three.
“I think we complement each other well,” she said. “Things he’s really fantastic at, like going fast, is my weakness, and the other bits like the dressage, which he wouldn’t particularly love, is one of my strengths.”
Canter said the championship proved something else about the horse known as Walter.
“We all know that Walter loves Badminton and Burghley, and he’s got an endless gallop around those big tracks. So to be able to prove that he can do these three phases in a competition like this, I think that makes him the ultimate event horse.”
Collett was equally proud of London 52, particularly after a dramatic moment on Saturday when he lost a shoe and slipped badly approaching the final water.
“I’ve seen a photo, and I don’t really know how he stood up, let alone jumped the jump into the water,” she said. “He knew exactly what was required of him. Picked himself up pretty much off the floor and jumped the jump from not very many strides.”
“I couldn’t fault him at all in all three phases. He’s given his all like he always does, and yeah, I’m just super lucky to ride him.”
Germany’s silver carried particular emotion following the June riding accident that prevented team coach Peter Thomsen from being at the championship. The German riders said they remained in almost daily contact with him and felt they were competing for him as much as themselves.
The United States, meanwhile, produced a steady climb through the championship to secure bronze after sitting sixth following dressage and fifth after cross-country.
“We didn’t get off to the greatest start,” the Americans said, “but everybody kept a really cool head, and I think we just kept sort of chipping away throughout the course of the weekend.”
“We just kept trying to make each day count as best we could, and that’s all you can really control.”
Team results here.
Individual results here.
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